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Bin lorries will be fitted with high-definition cameras to identify defects on roads that could become potholes, under Government plans.

Ministers will today announce plans for a new "pothole-spotter system", which will use cameras mounted to the bottom of refuse vehicles.

The cameras will automatically identify potential potholes by taking images of roads every second on a bin lorry route.

The plan risks drawing comparisons to the cones hotline, which was set up by John Major in 1992 to allow the public to report where traffic cones had been deployed on a road for no apparent reason.

The hotline was widely derided as a waste of money and eventually disbanded in September 1995.

Critics also pointed out that there is currently a £14billion potholes backlog that is yet to be dealt with and said that the Government should focus on fixing them before identifying prospective road defects.

Ministers will today allocate £1.2billion of funding to improve the country's roads and reduce congestion.

It includes £75 million which councils can bid for to repair and maintain local infrastructure such as bridges, street lighting and rural roads.

The bin lorry cameras will be trialled in Thurrock and York before potentially being rolled out across the country.

Andrew Jones, the transport minister, said: “Roads play a significant part in everyday life linking people with jobs and businesses with customers, which is why this government is investing record amounts improving and maintaining highways across the country to help motorists.

“The funding we have allocated today is focused on relieving congestion and providing important upgrades to ensure our roads are fit for the future - helping to build an economy that works for everyone.”

Tim Farron, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “This money will be, in practice, about as useless as the ministers announcing it.

"We are facing a £14 billion pothole black hole and the government announce this - a couple of cameras attached to bin lorries. It a cheap, gesture politics of the worst kind."

Martin Tett, Transport spokesman at the Local Government Association, said: “Councils fixed a pothole every 15 seconds again last year despite significant budget reductions leaving them with less to spend on fixing our roads.

“Our roads crisis is only going to get worse unless we address it as a national priority. This means the Government providing long-term and consistent funding to invest in the resurfacing projects which our road network desperately needs over the next decade.”